WearOptimo Unveils First Data on Wearable Hydration Sensor Technology, Outperforming Gold Standard Tests

Data revealed for the first time showcasing the company's revolutionary wearable hydration sensor—a minimally-invasive patch that accurately detects hydration levels, delivering results, and outperforming the needle-based 'gold standard'.

BRISBANE, Australia and NEW YORK, March 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- WearOptimo, a healthcare technology company developing next-generation Microwearable sensors for hydration and biomarker monitoring, today presented for the first time its formal clinical trial data for its intelligent wearable hydration technology at the LSI USA '25 Emerging Medtech Summit in Dana Point, CA.

The data presented are part of a clinical research study which took place at Queensland University of Technology (under formal human ethics), and evaluated the ability of WearOptimo's Microwearable Hydration sensor to detect levels of hydration compared to existing clinical protocols for measuring hydration; such as, serum osmolarity (via needle-based blood draws), mass loss and specific gravity of urine. The study was intended to demonstrate that WearOptimo's hydration sensor is much better at detecting mild dehydration, compared to these existing tests. The clinical study was performed across 90 participant sessions. The data show that WearOptimo's Hydration Microwearable sensors outperformed the 'gold standard' of serum osmolality (achieved via blood draws), demonstrating significantly greater accuracy (i.e. sensitivity and selectivity) at the typically hard to measure levels of mild dehydration.

Furthermore, the Hydration Microwearables achieved this improvement with:

• Pain-free and without any local skin interactions A newly established 'intelligent sensor', with our AI/machine learning and sensor technology stack generalizing to new participants.
• A form function translatable to effective productization.

"The data observed with our Microwearable marks a significant breakthrough in hydration monitoring.  To our knowledge, this is the only clinically proven wearable sensor capable of accurately monitoring hydration," said Dr. Mark Kendall, CEO and Founder of WearOptimo. "Through sophisticated engineering, we have developed a minimally-invasive wearable featuring microelectrodes that generate ultra-high-fidelity signals, amplified by advanced AI and data analytics. This technological breakthrough has allowed us to create the first clinical digital biomarker for hydration monitoring. The Microwearable sensor has significant potential to transform the way we address a multitude of 'mis-hydration' problems – including chronic mild dehydration, an often-overlooked health challenge linked to a 21% increase in mortality rates. Looking ahead, we are advancing our hydration Microwearable sensor for real-time, continuous monitoring, in a simple, user-friendly wearable product format.  Doing so will be a step-change over the gold standard blood assay requiring a centralized laboratory, providing the results hours and days after the blood draws from a needle.  Further, WearOptimo is positioned to make our sensor products at our state-of-the-art advanced manufacturing facility, with these results playing a key role in establishing a dominant market presence and reinforcing our position as a leader in wearable health technology."

About the Study

The Microwearable Hydration Sensor (the Microwearable) utilizes localized impedance measurements to monitor, in real-time, changes in hydration. The Microwearable has been designed on the hypothesis that mild hydration changes can be detected through changes in the impedance characteristics of the skin. By passing a small alternating current between microelectrodes that have been painlessly inserted into the uppermost layers of the skin, detection and notification of hydration status can be provided to the Microwearable user.

A key factor in assessing the Microwearable's feasibility is whether hydration at the systemic level would produce a corresponding pattern of changes in skin impedance that was consistent enough to support real-time hydration monitoring.  To monitor contrasting levels of hydration, each participant in the study (45 participants in total) attended two trials with intervals of light exercise. In one session, participants were subjected to exercise in a hot and dry environment with continuous fluid replacement.  In the other experimental session, participants were subjected to fluid restriction for 24-hours followed by exercising in a hot and dry environment. Several measures of hydration status (including changes in body weight, blood and urine samples) were recorded during the rest periods. 

The primary endpoint was to evaluate the performance of the Microwearable for monitoring hydration.

Full details on the study can be found on the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry here.

About WearOptimo

WearOptimo is a health technology company developing the next generation of wearable technology by leveraging AI to transform the way we approach hydration and biomarker monitoring. WearOptimo's Microwearable hydration monitor is an AI-enhanced, 'sticker-like' skin-patch containing sensors which measure data points that today's typical wearables cannot collect, in a minimally-invasive, pain-free format. The powerful technology platform works by microelectrodes reaching just a hair's width into the skin, directly detecting key body biosignals/biomarkers, which are then translated into real-time actionable wellness and health insights for the user.  WearOptimo's technology is at the forefront of real-time tech-enabled health monitoring, with applications spanning elite sports, military, and industrial sectors where hydration is critical to performance and safety.   WearOptimo is a world-class team, led by biomedical engineer Dr Mark Kendall – a pioneer of the field of microneedles and successful business builder in global healthcare – complemented by an exceptional Advisory Board, including: Dr Bob Langer (co-founder of Moderna).

Please visit https://wearoptimo.com/ for more information and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter (X).

Company Contact:

Dr. Mark Kendall
[email protected]

Media Contacts:

Rachelle Babb, Ph.D. or Sean Naughton, Ph.D.
Russo Partners, LLC
[email protected]
[email protected]

SOURCE WearOptimo